So I figured I'd start a drabble series… you know, somewhere to put stuff I think of that I don't want to drag out into a full-length story. One of those things that I don't do for the reviews but simply because I want to. Why Naruto? Because I can.

I make no promises to the accuracy of some information. There may be some spoilers in later chapters or even this one, if you only watch the English verson. There are pairings mentioned, and they are the ones I like best. I may take requests at some point but not yet. I wrote this piece while I was at work yesterday with "Without You" from Rent stuck in my head.

The drabbles will mostly focus on friendships, but I may make a few romantic ones just for the heck of it. Enjoy!

I do not own Naruto.

Tapestry

---One: Quilt---

His absence left a hole in the fabric of their friendship. It sounded cliché when they said it out loud, but at the same time it made perfect sense to them.

It seemed like it had always been Naruto-Sasuke-Skaura, even though they knew it hadn't. Now that Sasuke was gone, only a gaping hole was left where he'd been. They stitched the fabric back together as best they could, but the reminder that something was missing remained.

Sai, when he joined them, was like a patch of a different color, pattern, and material; he covered the hole but clearly did not belong. He left eventually, tearing off the mismatched patch and once again exposing the carefully made but not quite perfect stitches.

And then Sasuke returned. He was sewn back into place, worn a little differently than the others but still matching them. The stitches this time were not of thick, obvious black thread that made it clear something was changed but one of the same color as the fabric, that made it clear they belonged together.

By this time, of course, other pieces were joined to theirs. Hinata was joined to Naruto, and Kiba and Shino were attached to her. Ino had been linked to Sakura, bringing with her Chouji and Shikamaru, who brought Temari. Gaara was also attached to Naruto; Kankuro of course came with his siblings. Neji was joined with Hinata, and Lee with Naruto, putting Tenten between them.

Sasuke was sewn perfectly between Sakura and Naruto.

Those stitches could be torn apart, as they all knew, but with care time would keep them together.

---Owari---

Sappy-ish, perhaps, but I still like it. Future drabbles will play with the dynamics of other teams. Thank you for reading, and please review!